Page 39 of Too Close To Call

“Now, do you need backup with Daisy?” Rod asks.

Do I?

Probably, but I think we’ll be fine. “No, I don’t think so. What do I tell her about her mom?”

“The truth, or at least a kinder, gentler truth. Tori won’t be home tonight. She may not even be home for a few days.”

“Ryan is coming tomorrow to pick Daisy up and he’ll have her for two weeks.”

“That’s perfect. Maybe you should call him to pick her up early.”

I frown. “No, we’ll be fine. Do you think I should bring Daisy to the hospital to see her mom?”

“I don’t know. At least not right now. She’ll be in surgery. Maybe wait and talk to your mom. See what she suggests.”

“Right. Okay.” We talk a bit more and Rod promises to call if he hears anything new. I slip my phone into my back pocket and go to see what Daisy is up to. Should it take a kid this long to pull on a pair of shorts and a shirt?

I find her in the second bedroom with an odd assortment of clothing strewn on her bed. Daisy, however, is in none of them. She’s still in her pink kitty cat pj’s. Her arms are folded across her chest as she stands back and peruses the clothes on the bed. There are several pairs of shorts and shirts, a couple of dresses, and a few of those one-piece romper things.

I step inside the room and ask, “What’s up, Daisy?”

With her hands on her hips, she shrugs. “I’m trying to decide what to wear today.”

Is this kid for real? Does it actually start this early? “Okay, can I help?”

I pick up a blue pair of shorts. “How about these?”

She looks up at me with the cutest expression of indecision on her face. “It depends. Are we going to be playing around the house?”

I drop the shorts and scratch my head. “Well, I don’t know. Does it matter?”

She looks at me like I said something she doesn’t understand. “Of course it matters. Those are play shorts.”

I bypass the shorts and pick up another hopeful garment. “Okay, what about this dress?”

The dress is kinda cute. It’s pink and white check with a big bow on the back.

“Are we going out? And if we are, where are we going? That’s not a playing-in dress. And will there be ice cream involved? That’s not an ice cream dress.”

I drop the dress and run a hand through my hair. This is more difficult than I thought. “I see. So what if we stay home and watch some television and maybe go swimming this afternoon. Do you have an outfit for that?”

She turns her adorable blue eyes my way. “I don’t watch television. Do you have kid movies? I can watch those and the blue shorts would be perfect for that.”

See? This kid thing isn’t hard. “I can probably find some. But I have something else in mind that I think you might like.”

“When is my mommy going to be back home?” Daisy asks as she picks up the shorts.

I take a seat on her bed and pat the space beside me. “We need to talk about that, Daisy. Your mom cut her finger and needs to have a special doctor sew it up. That means she won’t be home as soon as we thought. But as soon as we can, we’ll talk to her, okay?”

I watch her lower lip for any slight tremble. I have no idea how to handle any tears. “Is she going to die like my grandpa did?”

In that moment, I know that my love for this child is real. What I wouldn’t give if… no, what ifs can’t happen if I want a chance with Tori. “No, honey. Your mom is going to be fine once the doctor sews her up. Your mom said your dad is going to pick you up tomorrow. You have a big, exciting trip to look forward to.”

I can see the worry about her mom and the anticipation of her trip warring with each other. “We’re going to princess-land.”

I’m glad she didn’t focus on her mom. Tori wouldn’t have wanted her to be anxious. “You sure are. I’ve been before and you are going to have so much fun.”

“Okay, I’ll wear the blue shorts and the yellow shirt with butterflies on it.”

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